September 14 through 19, 2017

UCLA v Memphis

"Walkin' in Memphis"

Road trip to Memphis, Tennessee

Fun times on Beale Street.  The food was great, the music fantastic!

We went to the Peabody Hotel to see the ducks march. Since 1930, everyday at 11 a.m. the ducks parade into the lobby and enter the fountain.  They swim in the fountain all day until 5 p.m., when they parade out of the lobby to the elevator and up to their home in the penthouse.  We enjoyed Bloody Mary drinks at the hotel bar in the lobby and watched the action.

 

Sightseeing in downtown Memphis kept us busy.  Everything was within walking distance from our hotel or we used Uber when needed.  Walked down by the Mississippi River to the Pyramid, which is now the Bass Pro Shop and a hotel.  And from our hotel's rooftop bar we had great sunsets. A great city to visit.

A statue of Jefferson Davis that was protected by a surveillance camera and a police car.  The Memphis City Council was holding a second hearing and vote on whether to remove the statute and others in the city.

Mud Island tram.

Elvis

BB King.

Hotel inside the Pyramid.

Central BBQ

Delicious! 

Barb's salad.  Hard to find the lettuce

Gus's Fried Chicken

Tim and Barb being carded to buy beer.

And then there was the attractions we visited, including Elvis Presley's Graceland, Stax Records and Sun Studio. So much great musical history in Memphis and the influence they all had on music.  The highlight of the trip was the visit to the National Civil Rights Museum at the Lorraine Motel.

Graceland

Down in the Jungle Room at Graceland

Stax Records 

Sun Studio

National Civil Rights Museum at the Lorraine Motel

The UCLA football team starting their tour of the National Civil Rights Museum.  Barb is trying to get as close as she can. 

The view from the window to the Lorraine Motel. The white wreath is where Martin Luther King Jr. was standing when he was shot.

A recreation of the bathroom where James Earl Ray perched to shoot from the window.

The UCLA football team visited the Civil Rights museum.  This is quarterback Josh Rosen and another player.

Oh, and we did go to the football game at the Liberty Bowl. It was very hot and humid, which made for an uncomfortable time and UCLA lost to Memphis 45 to 48, which was disappointing, but the trip to Memphis was great.

Memphis earned their stripes on this day.

Hard to see, but the Memphis mascot tiger is being brought into the stadium in this air conditioned transport.